Tech companies are completely people-enabled. People are a necessity, and excellent people are an excellent differentiator. We’re proud of the caliber of our people and are always on the prowl for more of the best. Diversity helps us: why would we turn our backs on all that talent?
Recently, we had the opportunity to participate in the White House’s Tech Inclusion Pledge. We are one of 32 tech firms (as of this writing, that is—interested companies can find more information here) to commit to three essential actions:
- To implement and publish company-specific goals to recruit, retain, and advance diverse technology talent, and operationalize concrete measures to create and sustain an inclusive culture;
- To annually publish data and progress metrics on the diversity of our technology workforce across functional areas and seniority levels; and
- To invest in partnerships to build a diverse pipeline of technology talent to increase our ability to recognize, develop, and support talent from all backgrounds.
The pledge sounds, and is, simple. That’s because it builds on a simple and powerful truth: you get what you measure.
In every area of our business, we try things, track them, and then aim higher. Diversity is no different. Greg Spaulding, our Director of Talent, is developing partnerships with programs that promote diversity, such as Summer Search and Bottom Line, with whom we’ve already worked many times. We’ll host meetups. We’ll track the diversity of our applicants, and ask pointed questions to drive us forward: Where are we finding diverse applicants? How are we proactively connecting with a diverse applicant pool? We’ll do all this. And we’ll track it. And whatever our results, we’ll aim higher.
There are many kinds of diversity. Gender and race, probably the most commonly discussed dimensions of diversity, are not the only ones. We all know that there is diversity – and discrimination – based on age, sexual orientation, beauty, socioeconomic background, educational background, and more.
At ezCater we reject all forms of discrimination. We embrace all kinds of diversity.
In many ways, this approach is baked into the DNA of our business. We’re woman-led, we have a blind applicant screening process, and we hold ourselves to a standard of simple decency in treating all our fellow workers. With the Tech Inclusion Pledge, we’re pushing ourselves harder to remove all obstacles to diversity. We recognize we can do better than we have. We will.
Why ignore talent anywhere you might find it?
Besides, it’s just the right thing to do.